Preview: Heritage Academy Heroes vs. St. John Paul II Catholic Lions
Heritage Academy is 7-2 against St. John Paul II Catholic since January of 2020, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Heritage Academy Heroes will play host again and welcome the St. John Paul II Catholic Lions, where tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Heritage Academy has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Even though Heritage Academy has not done well against Trivium Prep recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Heritage Academy claimed a resounding 63-22 win over Trivium Prep at home. Given Heritage Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 119th, while Trivium Prep is ranked 346th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Heritage Academy had a senior duo take command as Cameron Irby went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points and 6 assists and Carlos daniel Garcia scored 14 points along with seven steals and six assists. Garcia hasn't dropped below two steals for seven straight games. Another player making a difference was PJ Soltero, who scored five points.
Meanwhile, St. John Paul II Catholic's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their third straight loss. They took a 67-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of NFL Yet Academy. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
Heritage Academy's victory bumped their record up to 10-5. As for St. John Paul II Catholic, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost seven of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-14 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Heritage Academy against St. John Paul II Catholic when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 56-29 victory. Does Heritage Academy have another victory up their sleeve, or will St. John Paul II Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
